This reactor withstands temperatures up to 20 times hotter than the Sun

This article was taken from the March 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online.

An 18-metre-tall machine is attempting to harness nuclear fusion, the reaction that powers the Sun, to create electricity. "By the end of the century, 30 per cent of global energy could be generated by nuclear fusion," says Francesco Romanelli, leader of the team of scientists operating the Joint European Torus (JET). Based in Culham, Oxfordshire, JET is a collaborative project between 26 European countries and, at 16mW, it's the continent's largest fusion device.

I hope that by 2040 we will start to see fusion power injecting electricity into the gridFrancesco Romanelli

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In October 2012 it put its electricity-generating experiments on hold to test the suitability of a new structural material -- a combination of beryllium and tungsten -- that can withstand temperatures "up to 20 times hotter than the Sun", says Romanelli.

Since this new material proved far more resilient than the current carbon walls, it will now be included in the design of all large-scale commercial fusion devices.

The JET, built in 1983, works by heating plasma containing two hydrogen isotopes, deuterium and tritium, to 200,000,000 degrees Celsius, in the hope of generating energy from their binding. "I hope that by 2040 we will start to see fusion power injecting electricity into the grid," says Romanelli. Just stand well back.